Machine for delivering sheets from a stack



Oct. 16, 1934. H. KURTH MACHINE FOR DELIVERING SHEETS FROM A STACK FiledMarch 21; 1953 4 She ets-v-Sheet l INVENTOR WW 4 0a. 16, .1934. H. KURTH1,976,788

MACHINE FOR DELIVERING SHEETS FROM A STACK Filed March 21, 1933 4Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR f I ATI'O Y Oct. 16, 1934. H. KURTH 1,976,788

MACHINE FOR DELIVERING SHEETS FROM A STACK Fil ed March 21, 1935 4Sheets-Sheet 3 Oct. 16, 1934. H KURTH 1,976,788 I MACHINE FOR DELIVERINGSHEETS FROM A STACK Filed March 21, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 A I INVENTOR Ir, 59 7 JW Patented Get. 16, 1934 UNITED. STATES PATENT! orrree MACHINEFOR DELIVERING SHEETS FROM A STACK This invention relates to an improvedmachine for delivering sheets in succession from a stack of sheets. Theinvention is adapted for many uses but is particularlyadapted fordelivering paper money even though the money be very soft and flexibleas the result of much handling.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine of this kind thatwill deliver only one sheet at a time and the accuracy of the deliveryenables and also for power operation and both forms of machine. areillustratedin the drawings.

The drawings which accompany this description illustrate machinesembodying my invention in which Figure 1 is a vertical cross-section ofa machine of the type adapted for both manual or power drive. Figure 2is a front View of the machine shown in Figure l but with the frontreservoir removed andwith the side walls shown in section. Figure 3 is afront view, partly broken away, of one type of manually operablemachine.

Figure 4 is a central cross section of the machine shown in Figure 3.Figure 5 is a similar view with the machine shown in operative position.

The machine comprises a holder and a mechanism for intermittently actingon the end sheet in the stack for feeding the said end sheet. Thefeeding is done laterally relative to the stack of sheets. The machinemay be installed in various positions but the preferred way is thatillustrated in which the feeding is done from the bottom, which ispreferred, as it requires only a weight to insure thepressing of thestack toward the feeding means with a proper pressure.

The invention shown comprises a holder v which is. usually made ofsheet. metal and has an open top and an open bottom. The holder rests ona base which in the machine shown in Figures 1 and 2 comprises sideplates 11 andl2. These serve as bearings'for a shaft 13. The shaft 13supports a pulley or pulleys 14. I prefer to use two pulleys. Thepulleys are provided with a belt or belts 15. The belt is provided withan outside face having resilient or friction characteristics. 1 'findrubber an excellent material for the belt.

The belt passes over two pulleys 16 and 17. The

pulley 16 rotates on a shaft 18 and the pulley 1'1 rotates on a shaft19. The shafts 18 and 19 are supported on two plates 20 at each end ofthe machine. The plates are arranged to rock slightly on the shaft 18and thus have drop for a short distance at the pulley 17 for purposestobe described hereinafter. The reach 21 that passes across the bottomface of the stack is thus adapted'to feed a sheet from the stack andalso to be released between its feeding operations to lower the stackslightly. The stack is pressed down by a. suitable weight 22. At what Ishall call the front part of the machine is a lip or flap 23 withconsiderable resiliency especially at its free end where it is madethinner and usually with a slight flange 24. The flaps, usually two innumber, are secured in clamps 25 formed by bending over a part of thefront wall26 of the holder 10.

The thin end 24 of the lip is easily moved and is in contact with thebelt except when a sheet is passing between them. It has no appreciableresistance to the passage of a sheet propelled'by thebelt but doesengage the next sheet that may have a tendency to .follow and thusinsures the feeding of only a single sheet.

The belt has an intermittent motion caused by any suitable mechanism. Asan example I show a Geneva movement- The shaft 13 is supplied with aslotted plate 27. This is actuated by the pin 28 on a driving plate 29on the driving shaft 30. The driving shaft is extended across themachine and supports the two plates 20 and actuates the plate by meansof the cams 31 on which the projecting parts 32, of the plates 20, rest.

By continuous rotation of the driving shaft the belt 15 is moved with apulley 14 a distance equal to one-quarter the circumference of thepulley 14 and the parts are proportioned to cause the feeding of a sheetfrom. the bottom of the stack far enough for 'the'sheet to be grasped.

1 The machine shown inFigures I and 2also ineludes a grasping device intheform of two rollers 33 and 34, a. pair being placed at each'side-a'nddisposed in a position to receive a sheet from the belt 21 asthe beltmoves the bottom sheet out of the holder. The pulley 33 is secured on ashaft 35 and the pulley 34 is secured in a shaft 36. The pulleys arefaced with av soft substance such. as rubber and thus rotate together.One of the shafts is driven by a belt 37 which passes over a pulley 38on the; drive shaft 30: and over a pulley 39 on: the shaft 35. The shaftso may be driven continuously by'a. belt 40.

In order to stack bills that come. fromthe machine: I mayprovide areceptacle such as a well with a fixed wall 41 extending downwardly fromin front of the lower pulley 34. The well has a movable wall 42 whichhas its bottom end free and swinging on a rod 43. The wall 42 swingsoutwardly freely and is stopped from swinging inwardly by a lip 44engaging a stop 45. The wall 42 preferably drops into place by its ownweight when released. It is thus readily movable to remove sheets thathave beendeposited in the well. To form ends to the Well the side walls11 and 12 are extended to the front of the machine and also used to formsupports for the rod 43 and the stop 44. The front movable wall 42 iscut away as at 42 to allow the fingers of a hand to be placed over astack in the well and the base 10 is cut away as at 10 to allow thethumb to be placed under the stack. The stack can be grasped andwithdrawn carrying the movable wall 42 with it until the stack clearsthe bottom of the wall 42 at which time the wall drops back into place.i In operating this form of machine the machine is placed in operationby the belt 40 connected with a suitable motor. The interveningmechanism above described which forms a feeding means and including thebelt 15 causes the belt to have an intermittent feeding movement. Thebeginning of the feeding movement finds the earns 31 at the under sideof the shaft 30 and the bottom sheet of the stack lies with its edgejust below the shoulder 10 of the holder and against the lip or lips 23.The sheet'begins to move out of the holder under the lip. As it beginsto emerge the earns 31 engage the parts 32 of the plates 20 andconsequently the pulley or pulleys 17 are raised and this raised thereach 21 of the belt 15 and causes the sheet to be fed under the end 24.The movement of the plate 20 in a downward direction can be limited by apin 45, in the plate, extending into a slot 46 in one of the side walls.

The sheet which is being fed passes out of the holder far enough to begrasped by the hand. If the machine is supplied with the rollers 33 and34 the sheet is grasped by these rollers and as the rollers 33 and 34rotate continuously the sheet is deposited in the well formed by thewalls 41 and 42. When the sheet has been fed from the stack the cam 31releases the bracket 20 and the pulleys '16 and 1'7 drop slightlyallowing the next succeeding sheet to clear' the shoulder 10 and restagainst the bottom end 24 of the lip 23. The well-known expedient ofusing a counter or register on machines of this class may be employedand when the desired number of sheets have been deposited in the wellthe wall 42 is raised and the sheets removed. This is particularly ofadvantage in machines for counting and delivering paper money.Themachine is thus of great'utility in banks and in ofi'ices and inmaking up pay.- rolls and similar collections of various amounts. InFigures 3,4 and'5, I show a machine for manual operation at eachdelivery. In this machine the holder is practically the same as in themachine previously described. The difference lies in the means foradvancing the sheet-feeding means and the removal of sheet after it isfed from the stack. this latter machine the belt is shown at 47 with itsupper reach 48 forming the bottom of the holder 10. V i

The belt passes over two pulleys 49 being at the rear'part of the baseand the driving pulley 50 being at the front part of the base. Theshafts 51 and' 52 of the pulleys are supported by the ends 53 of thebracket 54. The bracket is hinged at the back as at 55 so that it canrock slightly and is supported at its lower end 56 by the spring 57which rests on the bottom 58 of the machine. The lower end 56 of thebracket is rolled over to hold a rod 59 which in turn acts as a fulcrumfor the lever 60 which extends up to the bottom of the holder 10 at thefront thereof to form a shelf 61 on which a sheet rests when it ispartly out of the stack. The lever 60 is preferably curved to form abrake 62 as it rests against the belt 47 when it is in its normalposition. The lever 60 is held in normal position by suitable means suchas the springs 63 secured to the lever and the back of the machine. Theshelf 61 of the lever is preferably extended across the full width ofthe machine.

The lever 60 also acts as a means to operate the belt with anintermittent motion. The lever en gages an arm 64 usually by a pin 65 ina slot 66 in the arm. The arm is hinged at 67 at the bottom of themachine. The arm carries a pawl 68 hinged at 69 and held up by a spring70. The pawl engages the pins 71 successively. The pins are spaced andthe throw of the arm is limited to cause each complete movement of thelever 60 to move the belt a pre-determined and proper distance to feed asheet partlyfrom the stack. The pawl 72 acts as a means for preventingreverse movement of the belt mechanism. The hinge 55 as shown consistsof lugs 73 struck up from the back of the machine and fitting into slotsin the back of the bracket 54.

The operation of this machine is manual. The shelf 61 is in positionshown in Figure 4 with a sheet 74 projecting partly from the stack andresting on the shelf 61. The fingers are used to press down on the shelfand the sheet is carried along and swept from the shelf which carriesthe sheet clear of the lip 23.- As the shelf is thus pressed down thespring 57 yields to lower the bracket 24 and in this way lower the belt47. This carries the next sheet below the shoulder 10a and against theend-24 of the lip 23 and as the shelf 61 is released the pawl 68 beginsto advance the next sheet at once and the edge of the sheet emerges fromunder the lip 23 after the spring 57 has raised the belt and itsassociated parts to its upper position. This movement of the belt underthe influence of the springs 63 on the lever 60feeds the sheet out for aproper distance and the sheet is met by the returning shelf 61 andsupported as in Figure 4. On a repetition of this operation anothersheet is delivered until the proper or desired number. are removed. Asuitable counter.v can, of course, be used in conjunction with themachine.

Various changes, can be made in the form and proportions of the partswithout departing from the scope of my invention. 4 I claimi f I I ,1. Amachine for delivering sheets insucces sion from a stack, comprisingaholder for a stack, a'fe'eding means on which thestack rests, means forintermittently moving the feeding means for delivering. a sheetlaterally from the bottom of the stack, a restraining device forresisting the movement of the sheets and means for lowering the feedingmeans when the feeding means is-inoperative. 1 t V 2. A machine fordelivering sheets in succession from a stack, comprising a holder for astack, a feeding means on which the stack rests, means for.intermittently moving thefeeding means for delivering a sheet laterallyfrom. the bottom of 150 the stack, a restraining device for resistingthe movement of the sheets, and means for lowering the feeding devicewhen it is inoperative.

3. A machine for delivering sheets in succession from a stack,comprising a holder for a stack, a belt forming the bottom of theholder, means for moving the belt to feed the bottom sheet laterallyfrom the stack, a lip in the path of the bottom sheet, and depressingmeans operated by the belt moving means for lowering the belt when thebelt is inoperative.

4. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack, comprising a holder, abelt, one reach of the belt forming the bottom of the holder and onwhich the stack rests, means for intermittently advancing the belt andmeans for raising the belt at a pre-determined time for feeding thebottom sheet from the stack.

5. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack, comprising a holder, abelt, one reach of the belt forming the bottom of the holder and onwhich the stack rests, and means for intermittently advancing the beltand means operable to raise the belt before its advance.

6. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack, comprising a holder, abelt, one reach of the belt forming the bottom of the holder and onwhich the stack rests, and means for intermittently advancing the beltand means operable to raise the belt before its advance, the holderhaving a restraining lip at one edge to withhold the stack when the beltis not lowered and disposed to release the lowest sheet when the belt islowered.

7. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack comprising a holder, apair of pulleys, a belt passing over the pulleys with its upper reachforming the bottom of the holder and means for intermittently advancingthe belt.

8. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack comprising a holder, apair of pulleys, a belt passing over the pulleys with its upper reachforming the bottom of the holder, means for intermittently advancing thebelt and means for raising at least one of the pulleys during theadvance of the belt.

9. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack comprising a holder, apair of pulleys, a belt passing over the pulleys with its upper reachforming the bottom of the holder, m ans for intermittently advancing thebelt and means for raising at least one of the pulleys during theadvance of the belt and a resilient lip engaging the belt where the beltdelivers the sheet.

10. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack comprising a holderwith an open bottom, a resilient flap at one edge of the bottom, afeeding means including a part movable toward the flap during itsfeeding movement and means for raising said part during the feedingmovement.

11. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack comprising a holderwith an open bottom, a resilient flap at one edge of the bottom, a beltarranged to pass across the bottom of the holder and to feed a sheetfrom the stack toward the flap and means for raising the feeding part ofthe belt before and during its feeding movement.

12. A machine for feeding sheets from the bottom of a stack comprising aholder, a rubber belt having one reach from the bottom of the holder,pulleys for supporting the belt, means for moving the belt with anintermittent motion and a resilient flap at the delivery edge of thebottom of the holder and in contact with the belt.

13. A machine for feeding sheets from the bottom of a stack comprising aholder, a rubber belt having one reach forming the bottom of the holder,pulleys for supporting the belt, means for moving the belt with anintermittent motion and a resilient flap at the delivery edge of thebottom of the holder and in engagement with the belt and means operatedfrom the belt-moving means for changing the height of the feeding partof the belt.

14:. A machine for feeding sheets from the bottom of a stack comprisinga holder with an open bottom, a. belt mounted on pulleys and having areach of the belt forming the bottom of the holder, a highly resilientlip at the delivery edge of the holder and in contact with the belt,means for moving the belt with an intermittent motion, means operatedfrom the belt-moving means for changing the height of the reach of thebelt at the bottom of the holder, and means for limiting the movement ofthe belt and limiting the change in elevation of the belt.

15. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack comprising a holder fora stack, the holder having an open side Where the sheets can be removedlaterally, a means for feeding the end sheet laterally, and automaticmeans for varying the pressure exerted by the feeding means on thestack.

16. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack, comprising a holderfor a stack, the holder having an open side where the sheets can beremoved laterally, a means for feeding the end sheet laterally, andautomatic means for varying the pressure exerted by the feeding means onthe stack and coacting means for operating the pressure-varying meansfrom the feeding means.

17. A machine for delivering sheets from a stack depositing them to formanother stack comprising a holder for a stack, a feeding means forsuccessively removing sheets from the stack and a receptacle in themachine disposed in a position to receive and stack sheets coming fromthe feeding means.

18. A machine for feeding sheets from a stack comprising a holder for astack of sheets, a receiver in the machine adjacent and below the holderfor receiving and stacking sheets, and means for transferring sheetssuccessively from the stack in the holder to the top of the re,- ceiver.

19. A machine for feeding sheets from a stack comprising a holder for astack of sheets, a receiver in the machine adjacent the holder forreceiving and stacking sheets, said receiver being below the holder andmeans for feeding a sheet at a time from the bottom of the stack anddelivering such sheets into the top of the receiver.

20. A machine including a well for sheets, said well having a frontpivoted at one edge to the well, said well having a recess in the bottomand said front having an opening in it to enable a stack in the well'tobe grasped by the thumb and fingers of the hand whereby the stack can belaterally withdrawn and acts as a means for swinging the front.

HERMAN KURTH.

